Bert and Ernie - not gay

CHRIS GRYGIE, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

By CHRIS GRYGIEL, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 6:10 pm, Thursday, August 11, 2011

FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2001 file photo, Muppets Bert, left, and Ernie, from the children's program "Sesame Street," are shown in New York. An online petition calling for the nuptials of Muppet flat-mates Bert and Ernie has sparked controversy. Chicago resident Lair Scott, who posted the petition, is seeking matrimony for the "Sesame Street" chums as a way to make gay and lesbian kids who watch the show feel better about themselves, and to promote tolerance for people who are different. Sesame Workshop, which produces the long-running children's series, declared in a statement, "They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves." (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser, file)
Photo: AP2001

They've lived together for 42 years and share a bedroom, but the people who produce "Sesame Street" made it clear on Thursday: Bert and Ernie are not gay.

Nor are they heterosexual. They just are.

"Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.

"Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics, they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation," Sesame Workshop said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The explanation about Bert and Ernie came after increasing online chatter that the producers of the popular, long-running children's show should allow the characters to marry.